Five Near Death Experiences
by kaisalune
Summary: My take on the events of Bridget Parker's life before she died.


_Okay, so hey everybody! I haven't watched Neighbours for quite a while but recently I remembered the whole Bridget's hit and run accident storyline and began typing this on my phone. Given this isn't my own plot or anything, I'm basically just rewriting the events, but I guess it's my take on it. I always liked Bridget's character and never knew why everybody was never so keen on her. But anyway. _

_I understand accuracy is a little off. I can barely remember what happened yesterday and it's a miracle these storylines stuck in my head. But obviously I can't remember the exact words people said and things like that. Plus I got confused about everybody's ages, but hopefully you can forgive me for things like that._

_I thought it was pretty tragic when she died, especially that she was leaving her daughter and poor Declan. But anyway, her life wasn't exactly uneventful so I thought I'd write about her five near death experiences. Well, the ones I can remember. And they're not all near death but whatever. _

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><p>Bridget had been through too much in her short life. At just eighteen she had suffered too much pain, too much tragedy. She'd lost people and loved people, one person in particular. But she had also experienced joy.<p>

These moments in her life began when she first arrived in Ramsay Street at fifteen. She met Declan, the love of her life, the man that would become her husband in three short years. Her parents had strongly disapproved of him at first – well, why wouldn't they? Within a few weeks she had gotten into serious trouble with the police for drag racing with Justin and his worthless cronies. Yet it was in those trouble-filled weeks that Bridget found herself falling for him, and evidently he her. However, when risking all to meet up with him, he'd hurt her.

"_He's not even your real dad Didge!"_

That set a chain of events in motion. While hurrying home, blinded by tears, she'd tripped on the curb. Looking up in shock she'd seen Declan's silver sports car speeding towards her with no sign of slowing or even that he'd seen her. She hadn't known it was actually her neighbour Susan, who had blacked out due to her multiple sclerosis. And Susan had hit her, leaving her for dead on the road, ignorant to the fact that she had fatally injured Ramsay Street's golden girl.

Fifteen – her first near death experience. There would be four more in the next three years. Five in total, and the last, when she was eighteen – that would ultimately result in her truth death.

Eventually.

It was Mickey who had found her, poor boy. The roads were relatively quiet and Mickey was alone with only his dog Jake, telling Bridget to get up when she was dying, dying…

He'd seen Declan's car though. He'd screamed after the young man he so eagerly looked up to, but of course the car had driven away. And Declan's heroic image had faltered in Mickey's eyes. It had flickered and gone out. Now Declan was the horrible human being that ran a girl down and fled the scene of the crime.

He had knelt by the girl who was basically his very own sister and pitifully bleated her name over and over again: "Briiidget! Bridget wake up! _Please _Didge!"

When he'd heard a car approaching his heart had hammered. Only about thirty seconds had passed since Mickey had come across Bridget in the middle of the road, yet it seemed like a lifetime, and in that time his thoughts had been in turmoil of what he could possibly do for Bridget. He had no phone and the prospect of leaving her terrified him, as if another car would come along and flatten her if he wasn't there to ward it off. How incredibly thankful he was that a car came along when it did. He stood and screamed for it to stop, waving his hands and jumping up and down. In retrospect he hadn't needed to do that – a normal person would see a fifteen year old girl sprawled on the tarmac and a nine year old boy kneeling beside her would stop. Bridget had told him jokingly in the hospital later that he'd humiliated himself for nothing, putting on a brave face despite the tormenting months ahead of her. Despite her jokes, Mickey still could not stop crying at the thought that Bridget may never properly walk again. Then it again, it was just lucky enough that Bridget's brain swelling had gone down and she'd come out of her coma. Up until then it seemed as if the machines would continue living for her.

The car slowed. Mickey was crying, his shoulders shaking as he ran towards the now parked car, tears wetting his face. By some incredible coincidence, Karl got out of the car. He was Susan's husband, the stepfather of Bridget's best friends Rachel and Zeke and, most importantly, a doctor. Perhaps it wasn't such a huge coincidence however – Ramsay Street was only a few streets away. But to Mickey it was a wonderful act of fate.

Karl leapt from the car, his face one of intense shock. Rachel and Zeke came from the passenger and back seat. Rachel had always been exceedingly melodramatic anyway, and when she saw her very best friend in the entire world on the ground she screamed Bridget's name and sprinted forward. Zeke, the quieter and more conservative, had said nothing, but his face said more than words ever could. His eyes were full of pain and desperation, the idea that he may be losing another person a hideous thought. Fourteen and already both of his parents had died. His sister Katia had gone off into the world never to be heard from again. And now Bridget? How was that in any way, shape or form fair? Zeke may not have been blatantly obvious when sharing his emotions, but he loved Bridget as only true friends could.

"What happened?" Karl shouted. He had retrieved his bag from the car and now came to kneel beside Bridget with the other three. "Kids, back up."

They stood aside to give him some space.

"A car hit her," Mickey cried. He was going to add, "Declan's," but didn't.

"And just left her?" Karl said in disbelief. Mickey didn't answer as it was obvious, and Karl listened through his stethoscope. Rachel was crying into her phone, an ambulance on the way.

Karl's face paled. Zeke, who was always the quiet observer, noticed. "What?"

"Her heart's stopped."

Rachel, who was off the phone now, looked aghast. "W-what?"

Karl had already placed his hands on her chest and was now pumping to get her heart started again. The other three looked on in sheer terror. Zeke watched, tears silently sliding down his cheeks, thinking that with the force that Karl was pumping he would surely break Bridget's ribs. Her entire body shook on the road, and Zeke's mind jumped to spinal injury – what if this movement was hurting her further? There was nothing else for it though – it had to be done.

Just as sirens began blaring nearby, Karl sat back and breathed with obvious relief. "It's beating again," he said.

Zeke realized with an intense sickness that Bridget had just been dead for about thirteen seconds. She had _died_.

Bridget's phone began ringing, across the road where it had skittered when Bridget had fallen on the curb. Rachel rushed for it, everything overwhelming as the sirens increased in volume. It was the sound of death, that ambulance. Any ambulance, really. Zeke hate it. Hearing them, seeing them. They reminded him of his parents.

"Hello? Miranda?" Rachel shouted into the phone.

"Rachel? Where's Bridget? Put her on right now!"

Rachel struggled with what to say. "Miranda – there's been an accident."

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><p>The waiting room at the hospital was a tense place to be. Declan sat wringing his hands, guilt tearing at him. He was so thankful that Rachel had called him. It seemed that making an appearance (how could he not?) had made Miranda and Steve respect him a little more now, though that was the least of his worries. Had he caused this? Was this his fault? He had caused her to run away, right into oncoming traffic apparently. What made things worse was that Mickey was positively glaring at him, for what reason Declan had no clue. All he knew was that when Didge woke up, because she <em>would <em>wake up, he was going to tell her he loved her. Because he did, and it was a shame it had taken Bridget being the victim of a hit and run to make him realise it.

And such a shame that both Bridget and Declan's stubbornness would prevent both of them admitting their true feelings for a long while yet.

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><p>Bridget was on life support in a coma for over a week. In that time, Susan was arrested, held in jail and then released on bail. Miranda and Steve hated their once close friend, and Susan herself was filled with unbelievable remorse. And Bridget's friends, especially Declan, missed days of school waiting, hoping and praying that she would be okay.<p>

Then she had woken up and everybody had been overjoyed – for a moment. Until Bridget had said in a terrified voice that she couldn't feel the entire left side of her body. The doctors said it could quite possibly be permanent. Bridget had been forced to accept that she had to live with a disability.

And Declan didn't tell her his feelings.

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><p><em>Hope you enjoyed. Feedback much appreciated! <em>

_I really like Zeke's character and am thinking of writing a fanfic around him, but I'm not sure. Thoughts? I just think he is intriguing. Anyway!_

_Thanks for reading!_

_- Ash_


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